Rear end very stiff?.?.?

nees1212 said:

The rear end of my truck is extremely stiff. When I go over a bump at all speeds (usually go over them slow), the rear end drops like a brick and everything in the bed hops around. I've got a set of Downy long AAL and a set of Rancho 99144. Is it the AAL or shocks that are causing this stiff ride? Is there anything relatively cheap to do to fix it, or am I better off getting a set of deavers or alcans with some bilsteins?

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I have an AAL in the back but different shocks and my ride is rough too. I think that the AAL is the main contributer to your ride. Different shocks may make a difference but I dont think it would be much.

nees1212 said:

The rear end of my truck is extremely stiff. When I go over a bump at all speeds (usually go over them slow), the rear end drops like a brick and everything in the bed hops around. I've got a set of Downy long AAL and a set of Rancho 99144. Is it the AAL or shocks that are causing this stiff ride? Is there anything relatively cheap to do to fix it, or am I better off getting a set of deavers or alcans with some bilsteins?

Click to expand...

It's the AAL, get a deaver leaf pack, and some 5100's and your ride will be much nicer.

nees1212 said:

The rear end of my truck is extremely stiff. When I go over a bump at all speeds (usually go over them slow), the rear end drops like a brick and everything in the bed hops around. I've got a set of Downy long AAL and a set of Rancho 99144. Is it the AAL or shocks that are causing this stiff ride? Is there anything relatively cheap to do to fix it, or am I better off getting a set of deavers or alcans with some bilsteins?

Click to expand...

cheap fix? nope ;/

going with bilstein 5150s in the lighter valving will help, however but they ain't cheap.

best is to get rid of the AALs and go with leafpks and better shocks. but...pricey

nees1212 said:

The rear end of my truck is extremely stiff. When I go over a bump at all speeds (usually go over them slow), the rear end drops like a brick and everything in the bed hops around. I've got a set of Downy long AAL and a set of Rancho 99144. Is it the AAL or shocks that are causing this stiff ride? Is there anything relatively cheap to do to fix it, or am I better off getting a set of deavers or alcans with some bilsteins?

Click to expand...

I'd suggest removing the AAL and putting a shackle in. See how it rides then. If still to stiff then look at diffenrent shocks.

Shackles

Shackles will also stiffen the ride..trust me, I'm running anAAL and a Shackle andit's as if I have no rear suspension.

sorry, I disagree. and I said to remove the AAL, not to add shackle with AAL. have you tried removing your AAL adn see how it changes the ride???? might want to try.
Probably need to relevel truck somehow w/o AAL. or jsut use shackle lenght to re-level. Dont' go too long on shackle.

the stock leaves are already too stiff to begin with, adding the AAL just made it worse. I have Downey HD shackles, and they didnt change the ride at all, so as suggested earlier, trying removing the AAL and get shackles instead

Have you tried a lower setting on your shocks? The higher the setting, the stiffer the ride will be.

I'll second that..I have theDeaver/ 5100 combo and mine rides like a Cadillac..

I've got the stock leafpack w/a fabtech aal and a 1 " block and mine rides rougher than hell w/the fabtech shocks. I've found that if I have about 300lbs in the bed it rides a ton nicer though lol. Soften that biotch out.

nees1212 said:

The rear end of my truck is extremely stiff. When I go over a bump at all speeds (usually go over them slow), the rear end drops like a brick and everything in the bed hops around. I've got a set of Downy long AAL and a set of Rancho 99144. Is it the AAL or shocks that are causing this stiff ride? Is there anything relatively cheap to do to fix it, or am I better off getting a set of deavers or alcans with some bilsteins?

Click to expand...

That is very comon in the tacoma rear ends with downey add leafs and rancho. if you want it too ride good and still not break the bank you could do a Deaver 3 leaf add pack and 5100 bilstein shocks in the rear. That will set you back about 350.00 for everything.

If you have anymore questions let me know, I deal with these set-ups all the time.

cb77DEMELLO said:

That is very comon in the tacoma rear ends with downey add leafs and rancho. if you want it too ride good and still not break the bank you could do a Deaver 3 leaf add pack and 5100 bilstein shocks in the rear. That will set you back about 350.00 for everything.

If you have anymore questions let me know, I deal with these set-ups all the time.

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I wouldn't think the 3 would suffice. I've got a shell, and I might be having my aftermarket bumper fitted with a swing out tire carrier, so I'll be having a lot of weight in the back end.

cb77DEMELLO said:

That is very comon in the tacoma rear ends with downey add leafs and rancho. if you want it too ride good and still not break the bank you could do a Deaver 3 leaf add pack and 5100 bilstein shocks in the rear. That will set you back about 350.00 for everything.

If you have anymore questions let me know, I deal with these set-ups all the time.

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I have a similar rear ride problem to the original poster with my Downey Long AAL and OME N85 shocks - let's just say mom doesn't like speedbumps (Hell even I get annoyed). Anyhow, I am curious how the OME A/B Leafpacks compare to the Deaver 3-leaf add pack or maybe more accurately, the Deaver full 7-leaf pack? Through the Bilstein 5100s into the mix and I am curious which combination of the OMEs/Deavers/Bils (springs and shocks) would ride and perform offroad the best....any thoughts?

nees1212 said:

I wouldn't think the 3 would suffice. I've got a shell, and I might be having my aftermarket bumper fitted with a swing out tire carrier, so I'll be having a lot of weight in the back end.

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then go with Alcans. Deavers tend to work well for flex but not for load capacity.

LouisvilleKY said:

Shackles will also stiffen the ride..trust me, I'm running anAAL and a Shackle andit's as if I have no rear suspension.

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I thought (read on here some time in the past 12 mo.s) that shackle helped the ride. Could it be that your AAL w/out the shackles would be unbearable. Have you ran your setup w/out the shackles.

I also thought that I read on here that the shackles add to axle wrap.

Could someone confirm or deny these statements please.